Spontaneous vesicle formation in aqueous mixtures of cationic gemini surfactant and sodium lauryl ether sulfate

Abstract

Molecular aggregates of surfactant molecules consisting of one or more bilayers arranged in a hollow, closed, usually spherical geometry are termed "vesicles" or "liposomes". In recent years it has been found that in certain systems the vesicular structure forms spontaneously and is long lived, and it has been suggested that these structures may in fact constitute the equilibrium state in these cases (as is true of micelles) This paper deals with the mixed CMC, vesicles, phase behavior, phase transition, geometrical structure, their formation and characterization in the aqueous solutions of mixed cationic/anionic surfactants systems. TEM micrographs revealed that the vesicles were of spherical shape and that their size was of around 180 nm. The zeta potentials are positive at CGS1-rich regions and negative at SLES-rich regions. In the region where SLES/CGS 1 (6/4), the zeta potentials are very small, implying that the vesicles at this surfactant ratio may be less stable. At other surfactant ratios, the vesicles are thought to be stable, supported by large absolute values of zeta potentials and little change in UV absorbance for several months.